Week Two Flashcards
The theory of knowledge that informs how research is conducted
and interpreted.
EPISTEMOLOGY
-Belief in an objective reality independent of perception.
-Focuses on observable facts, measurable data, and objective
truths.
-Emphasizes quantitative methods like surveys, experiments, and
statistical analysis.
-Example: investigating the correlation between income inequality
and crime rates in different neighborhoods.
Positivism
-Acknowledges the existence of an
external reality mediated by human
perception and social structures.
-Emphasizes reflexivity, standpoint, power dynamics, and subjectivity.
-Example: impact of systemic racism on educational outcomes for Black students via participants observation, interviews, and historical data.
Social Realism
Views reality as constructed through social interactions and individual
perceptions.
Challenges traditional notions of objectivity and universal truths.
Often criticized for lacking clear criteria to differentiate truth claims.
Example: A study exploring how the concept of “mental illness” is
defined and understood within different cultural contexts. Anaylze
how language, social interactions, and cultural beliefs shape
perceptions and experiences of mental health.
Social Constructivism
Reasoning approach in which general
principles (theories or hypotheses)
lead to specific conclusions.
Example: When building a house: You
begin with a blueprint (general plan)
and then construct the house (specific
outcome) according to the plan.
Top-down approach.
THE DEDUCTIVE
APPROACH
Research approach in which
conclusions are developed from
repeated and specific
observations.
In other words, researchers “build
up” to a conclusion through
observations.
Bottom-up approach.
THE INDUCTIVE
APPROACH
Who made the Deductive approach?
Socrates
Who made the Inductive approach?
Francis Bacon
Research follows a pre-determined, linear
sequence of steps so revisiting earlier stages
is generally not possible.
* Example: Once survey questions are
finalized and participants respond, the
questions cannot be changed.
* Common in deductive hypothesis-testing and
quantitative methods like surveys and
experiments.
Fixed Framing
Research allows for flexibility and iterative changes during the
process.
o Often data collection and analysis are done simultaneously.
o Example: An autoethnography allows researchers to reflect
on and modify their approach even during the writing phase.
o Common in qualitative methods like ethnography and tends to
be inductive.
Fluid Framing
Logical groupings of attributes.
Variables
Characteristics or qualities that
describe an object.
Attributes
The process of developing a definition
for how a variable will be measured
Operationalization
A testable statement about the relationship between two
variables, which typically indicates direction and
magnitude
Hypothesis
Presumed to cause or determine another variable
Independent Variable
A variable assumed to depend on or be caused by another
(the independent variable)
Dependent Variable
Both variables move in the same direction.
An increase in the IV leads to an increase in the DV.
Put another way…A decrease in the IV leads to a
decrease in the DV
Positive (or direct) relationship
The two variables move in opposite directions.
An increase or decrease in the IV leads to the opposite
movement in the DV.
Negative (or inverse) relationship
Thing data is being collected about and analyzed
Units of Analysis
Comparing data about individuals
The Individual Unit
Organizations, institutions, communities, countries, youth
organizations, social interactions, or narratives
The Group Unit
